The recent webcast on the topic of marketing to home improvement retailers was unprecedented in exploring a niche that seldom is discussed, for good reason. Manufacturers and suppliers to large retailers do not want competitors to gain any advantage in merchandising placement or line reviews. Such contracts are often multi-year and worth millions. Shown here, the top 10 home improvement retailers by revenue and store locations. Click “Read the Rest” below for full blog post.

So how can suppliers be more effective in marketing to home improvement retailers? The webcast from the Construction Marketing Association (CMA) shared insights and examples from two panelists, Kevin Enke from Bosch Power Tools and John Quinn of Safety Works. CMA chairman Neil M. Brown moderated while providing industry statistics, results of a national survey on retail home improvement marketing tactics, and more examples of merchandising programs.

Types of home improvement retailers include home centers (incl. big box stores), hardware co-ops (incl. Ace, True Value, Do it Best, etc), lumber yards, paint, home decor and flooring stores, farm and ranch, and mass merchant’s hardware departments.

Survey results identified an average of 53% of sales to retail. Top marketing initiatives to retailers included merchandising displays (90%), promotions (80%), proposals/bids and RFPs (70%), and tied at 60%, packaging and line reviews.

Typical merchandising sets include in-line bays, end caps and semi-permanent solution centers; promotional displays include in-aisle stack-outs, quarter pallets (QPs), bin merchandisers, clip-strips and various dispensers. Point-of-purchase (POP) materials and packaging were also discussed.

The secretive topic of line reviews was considered, along with such trends as retailer SKU rationalization and retailer’s proprietary brands. Some tips for improving line review effectiveness were shared.

Each panelist shared examples of retail packaging, merchandising displays and planograms. Finally, several retail examples from Construction Marketing Advisors were referenced including planograms, packaging, retail circulars, POP brochures and graphics and more.

The webcast concluded with several excellent questions regarding channel conflict, packaging and merchandising trends, and the use of social media and QR codes for retail marketing. Several home improvement retail marketing resources were listed in the presentation deck.

A copy of the complete presentation is available free to CMA members on the Resources webpage, Databank link. Two related whitepapers will also be available in September, 2011: 1) Retail Line Review Strategies, and 2) Home Improvement Retailer Proprietary Brands. These and many other resources are available to members. Non-members can purchase the presentation and whitepapers on the Events Archive page (link here).

Please consider joining the Construction Marketing Association, and participating in the Retail Marketing Sub-Committee.

Retail Line Review Consultation

Finally, our agency partner, Construction Marketing Advisors offers CMA members a Complimentary Retail Line Review Consultation. For more information, use the Construction Marketing Advisors contact form, click here.